History Belongs to the Intercessors

I want to be a history maker! That is the goal of my life. In fact, I want you to arise to your priestly and prophetic destiny and help me and hundreds of thousands of others shape history before the throne of Almighty God! Are you ready to make a difference? The recipe for enduring change is simple. It is spelled P-R-A-Y! Yes, prayer changes things, and history belongs to the intercessor!

Let’s arise and get on with God’s original program of extending the rod of His Kingdom authority into every cultural sphere of life. Let’s impact the seven societal mountains with history-making prayer. It’s time to shake us free from the pervasive influence of this lethargic “what will be will be” attitude and take our rightful position seated with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places looking down upon the affairs of humanity. In fact, let’s change this present darkness by calling forth brilliant displays of God’s great presence. Ready to do it? Let’s take the intercession plunge together!Why do I burn with this message? I burn because this is not just about being highly gifted. Prayer is God’s equal opportunity card that each believer in Christ gets to punch! We can each cast out demons! We can each pray for the sick and see them recover, and we can each release history-making intercession! Let’s shift things through the prevailing power of effective intercession.

WHAT IS INTERCESSION?

Let’s cover some basic points to make sure our foundation is sure. Somebody who intercedes intervenes in a situation, stepping between two parties with the intention of reconciling differences. An intercessor is a “go-between.” An intercessor mediates, occupying a middle position. You become a middleman for God! The most familiar phrase is “standing in the gap,” which comes from Ezekiel 22:30: “I [God] sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none” (KJV).I define intercession as follows:

The act of making a request to a superior, or expressing a deep-seated yearning to our one and only superior, God.

I followed that with a definition of intercessor:

One who reminds God of His promises and appointments yet to be fulfilled; who takes up a case of injustice before God on behalf of another; who makes up the “hedge” (that is, builds up the wall in time of battle); and who stands in the gap between God’s righteous judgments and the people’s need for mercy.

Jesus, our High Priest, who sacrificed His own life to redeem us from death, is the foremost intercessor. He interposed Himself between sinful humans and the justified wrath of His Father, and He still intercedes for us day and night. We read in the book of Hebrews:

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25 NASB).

All believers are called to be intercessors. There is no special list anywhere in the Scriptures indicating that prayer, praise, worship, and intercession are special “gifts of the Holy Spirit.” They are the birthright of every believer! We are each called to co-labor with Jesus Christ. We simply lift up to our Father every need, every desire, and every thought. But we do it from the expectant heart, and we do it with a sense of delight, not obligation.The Bible is filled with urgent summons to pray. “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:16-18 NASB). What is God’s will? Rejoice, pray, and give thanks at all times! Awesome! What an approachable Father God we have!Life begins in intimacy. Communion with God is the bedchamber of the Holy Spirit. But intercession is more than just another word for prayer. Intercession is defined as “the act of pleading by one who in God’s sight has a right to do so in order to obtain mercy for one in need.”

In “burden-bearing intercession” we pick up the burdens of others; we deposit them before the throne of mercy to obtain help for a time of need. We do not keep these burdens; we release them to our gracious, loving Father. In devotional prayer, I bring my adoration and personal needs before my God. But in intercession, we bring our petitions to a loving God in behalf of others.

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ABRAHAM

One of the first great intercessors in the Bible was Abraham, and his most famous intercessory prayer was for one of the most sinful places in the ancient world! Sodom and Gomorrah have become synonymous with sin, sexual debauchery, and sodomy, yet the great patriarch of Israel, the “father of faith,” interceded passionately that those twin cities of sin be spared! I believe it was this kind of com- passion that led God to say, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” (Gen. 18:17 NASB).

When God told Abraham that He planned to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, the patriarch asked God if He planned to destroy the righteous people along with the wicked. Abraham then made the counterproposal, “...Will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?” (Gen. 18:24b NASB). When God agreed to relent if 50 righteous people were found, Abraham persisted to drive the numbers lower, knowing that only Lot and his family could possibly qualify. The patriarch whittled the number down to 20, and in verse 32 he reached a pivotal place that is important for us to see. Abraham said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?...” (Gen. 18:32 NASB).

God agreed to Abraham’s request, but this passage causes us to wonder, What if Abraham hadn’t stopped at ten? God definitely showed no signs of being angry with Abraham over his persistent intercession and pleading on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. In fact, I believe God liked it. I have a hunch that Abraham could have gone even lower. (But then again, I wasn’t there, and I certainly don’t have all the facts at hand.) However, this incident illustrates one of the fundamental laws governing the relationship between God and people: God quits when people quit.

What did you say, James? Yes, God quits when people quit! God loves a good fight, and He calls us to be His tenacious bulldogs in the Holy Spirit—to get hold of the promises of God and not let go until something happens. History-making intercessors just flat out never give up. They continue until! I love it... So will you.